Effective Strategies for Success Chapin Hill Advisors, Inc. Four Months left to hit your Annual Goals Taking stock…. Are you tracking at an increase from last year? Do you even know what your revenue and profits are year-to-date? Do you know why business is either tracking ahead or behind? September has arrived and that means you have four months left until year-end. Where are you versus your annual business goals? Are you up or down in revenue and profitability? If you do not know where you are, figuring that out becomes the very first step. Don’t put it off another minute. An hour of planning can reap many hours of rewards and the same applies with taking stock of your business and trends. If you are having a great year, do you know why? Did you land one monster client? Did you get a number of referrals? Did you run specials or host events which paid off? Did you implement a marketing plan? If sales or profitability is down, what happened that caused sales to fall off? Were you distracted by a family matter? Did you lose a core team member or a large client? Is foot-traffic down if you are in a retail location? Take stock of what has happened so far so you can concentrate on implementing for success in the last four months. Important data…. Take a few minutes and assess progress year to date versus the same period last year. Start with gross revenues and then look at profitability. I have seen several businesses whose margins have compressed. Some of that may be out of your control as prices for supplies, oil, electricity and cable rise and you can only raise your prices so far to be competitive, so margins suffer. I have also discovered that many business owners and sales professionals do not pay close attention to what is selling and their costs on each item. If you are a retailer, you need to know your cost of goods sold and see what categories were the most popular. If you have a sales or consulting practice, see how many new clients came in and what were the drivers? Are you seeing repeat business? Run through the biggest sources of new business by looking at the revenue numbers and noting the two to four biggest drivers of new or increased revenue. Is there a way to replicate these drivers? Plan out the rest of the year… If you have a formal business plan for the full year, it helps to break it down by quarters as well. A good business plan should have room for the number of new clients you wish to attract as well as the gross revenue, any new products or strategies you are implementing and a timeline for launching. For many businesses and salespeople, revenue can build as the year progresses. You land larger clients and gain referrals from those new, satisfied clients or a new product line or distribution center adds revenue. The honey moon period when you have just won a new client is the best time to ask for referrals or to help those new clients refer you to their friends, neighbors or peers. Find a way that is comfortable to let those new clients know you appreciate their business and would love to receive referrals if they are satisfied. Some businesses are very seasonal. Others may have busy periods of the year. Regardless of the seasonality, much of the revenue can be directed by you and your sales team. Social media can be utilized to drive new business to you. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and blogs can all be utilized to get the word out there. Hosting or co-hosting events can also be a draw. Finding a way to stay top of mind to your potential clients is the challenge everyone faces. SEO (search engine optimization) can help but you should not rely on being at the top of a google search to allow prospective clients to find you. Get the word out there in a customer friendly, not pushy manner. Prove your value to potential clients and the word will spread. Focus… We have roughly 120 days left in the calendar year but only 70 selling days left. What are your goals for those months, weeks and days? Write them down, plan it out. Try a few new things whether it is a promotion, new merchandising, adding social media, hosting a party, co-sponsoring an event. Get your team involved. Find fun ways to involve the team and bonus them for their help in reaching goals. These can be simple rewards such a s a gift certificate for an evening out, buying lunch for the entire staff if you have a great week or providing actual cash bonuses for a job well done. When starting bonus programs though, once you give them, it is very hard to take them back! Give thought to the structure and long term effect on your business before you commit. There are only about 6 weeks before the focus shifts to Thanksgiving. Then the year-end holiday season is upon us and everyone is focused on home and family. Before you know it we’re starting a brand new year. Focus is critical. Get motivated and set some short term goals and rewards for yourself and your team. About Chapin Hill Advisors, Inc. Kathy Boyle founded Chapin Hill Advisors after spending her early career working in large and small investment firms on Wall Street. Through the years, Kathy has made many of her own mistakes and learned from them. She has advised business clients of all types and sizes on structuring sales of their businesses which led to reviewing their profitability and plans for success. Kathy added business planning and coaching to Chapin Hill’s services as so many business owners wanted to sell their business but had no game plan. Chapin Hill Advisors can help a business owner plan effectively to minimize estate taxes and plan for future financial security for their loved one. They can also help business owners and professionals lay out roadmaps for future success to increase sales and create a saleable entity which can fund their future.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:49:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015